Getting There Not Half the Fun for Texas A

It’s supposed to be difficult to get to out-of-the-way College Station, Tex., home of Texas A&M; University. But the Aggie football team found it even harder to get to the New York area for last Saturday night’s Kickoff Classic against Nebraska.

“We were supposed to arrive a little after 11 p.m.,” Aggie Coach Jackie Sherrill said. “But the plane had fuel problems leaving Houston to pick us up in College Station. Then they had to replace a broken valve. That cost them an hour and a half.

“Then we had a thunderstorm in College Station. We hadn’t had any rain in four months, but . . . we got a thunderstorm.

“Then they had problems with the weather up here (New York). They wanted us to fly to northern New York and come in from that direction, but we didn’t have enough fuel, so we had to land at Dulles (Washington, D.C.) to refuel.”

The Aggies finally arrived at their hotel around 4:30 a.m., about 8 1/2 hours after leaving College Station. They lost to Nebraska, 23-14.

Will the Washington Redskins be the first team to repeat since the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1978-79?

“I don’t think so,” former Steeler Rocky Bleier told the Washington Post. “Why? For obvious reasons. I don’t want ‘em to repeat. No one will be calling me anymore, asking why teams don’t repeat. I need the publicity.”

Trivia Time: What does freshman quarterback Todd Marinovich of USC have in common with the quarterbacks in the school’s last three Rose Bowl wins? (Answer below.)

A couple of excerpts from Conrad Dobler’s new book, “They Call Me Dirty”:

--On Ken Stabler, who played the hardest on Saturday nights: “He’s the only player I know who, on game days, looked worse than he did on the photograph on his driver’s license.”

--On Commissioner Pete Rozelle: “I’ve always had a hard time trusting someone with a year-round tan who lives in New York.”

Ouch: The Boston Globe, reporting that marathoner Ron Tabb is writing a kiss-and-tell book on his marriage to Mary Decker Slaney, said the two were communicating until he put this on his answering machine after her collision with Zola Budd in the 1984 Olympics:

“Today’s question is: What American athlete fell flat on her face in the Olympics? If you answer it, you’re entitled to a Mary Decker running doll that comes complete with a temper tantrum. We’ve also developed a Richard Slaney doll that picks you up and puts you back on your feet.”

Sam Alford, who coached son Steve at New Castle (Ind.) High School, told of the problems in the latest Basketball Bulletin: “I got booed by about 9,000 people every time I put him in the game his freshman year. I got booed by about 9,000 people every time I took him out of the game his senior year.”

Laker Coach Pat Riley, who is campaigning a Spectacular Bid colt named Coach, told the Chicago Tribune how he got interested in racing: “When I was down at the University of Kentucky, you were either interested in basketball and horse racing or women and partying. I chose the first two.”

Department of Irony: While Doug Flutie struggles to hang on with the New England Patriots, younger brother Darren has made it as a receiver with the San Diego Chargers.

Said Charger offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome of Darren, a free agent who caught two touchdown passes against the Rams: “This is my 13th year of coaching in the NFL, and this is the first rookie I’ve had that reminds me so much of Steve Largent.”

Trivia Answer: He’s left-handed. Rose Bowl winners Tim Green (1985) and Paul McDonald (1979-80) likewise were southpaws.

Quotebook

Florida State football Coach Bobby Bowden, on faith: “You want to know what a real test of faith is? That’s when you go to church and you reach into your pocket and all you got is a $20 bill.”